Wednesday, 13 February 2013

The Major Role of Coal

In an article on PJ Media, the Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) Tom Harris and New Zealand based Consulting Engineer Bryan Leyland advise President Barack Obama to choose his next Secretary of Energy more wisely.

They write:

While we need to reduce real pollution where it is a problem, [ex-Secretary of Energy] Chu must
have known that CO2 is not a pollutant. It is essential to life on
Earth, and its increasing concentration has led to greater agricultural
productivity.

Chu should have also known that coal, properly mined, prepared, and
used, is anything but a nightmare. Coal played a major role helping
power America to prosperity and world leadership during the 20th
century. It still provides about 50% of all electric power generated in
the United States today. The U.S. has enough coal left in the ground to
last for centuries. It is by far the least expensive source of power,
and modern pollution control has made coal-fired electricity stations
cleaner than ever before.

Coal also played a major role in Australia's prosperity.

After reproducing Chu's resignation letter which was "riddled with sensationalism and basic errors," they continue:

It is not just in America that Chu has been pushing this
dysfunctional energy plan. Through the newly launched Clean Energy
Ministerial, the U.S. Department of Energy is working to “speed the
spread of renewable power and mobilize talent from around the world to
advance the clean [i.e. low CO2] energy revolution.

Scientific studies, many of which are summarized in the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change,
demonstrate that none of this will have significant impact on our
planet’s climate. But it will certainly have a devastating impact on the
U.S. and world energy situation if it is not stopped soon.

They point out that renewables cost 3-10 times more than reliable energy from conventional sources such as coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear.